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Governor Martin O’Malley today announced the appointment of Donald C. Fry as the Chair of the Video Lottery Facility Location Commission, a seven-member commission charged with the selection of the facilities and awarding of operators’ licenses through competitive bidding for the five video lottery locations throughout the State. Mr. Fry is the President and CEO of the Greater Baltimore Committee, central Maryland region’s most prominent organization of business and civic leaders.

“I am proud to announce Mr. Fry as the Chair of the Facility Location Commission,” said Governor O’Malley. “Mr. Fry’s civic and business leadership throughout the State of Maryland will serve as a great asset to the Commission.”

“I am honored to have been asked by Governor O’Malley to serve as Chair on this very important commission,” Fry said. “It is critical that this process be conducted fairly and with the utmost integrity for the benefit of the citizens of the State of Maryland.”

Fry currently serves as president and CEO of the Greater Baltimore Committee and has been chief executive officer since November 1, 2002. Under Fry’s leadership, the GBC has emerged as a lead organization in supporting development of two bioscience parks, and has led the way in investing in the region’s emerging bioscience industry. Fry was also instrumental in ensuring that regional transportation plans are funded, particularly the planning of the expansion Red Line and the Green Line.

Prior to his appointment of president and CEO, Fry served as the GBC’s executive vice president and general counsel with full responsibility for managing the day-to-day operations. He also oversaw the GBC’s economic development and community revitalization efforts on Baltimore’s west and east sides and the organization’s public safety initiatives including strategies to reduce crime and increase drug treatment availability.

From 1980 to 1999, Fry was engaged in a private law practice in Harford County. During this time he also served in the Maryland General Assembly. He served as a member of the Senate of Maryland from 1997 to 1998 as a member of the Budget and Taxation Committee and its subcommittee on Public Safety, Transportation, Economic Development and Natural Resources. His tenure in the Maryland House of Delegates from 1991 to 1997 included service on the House Ways and Means Committee, Appropriations Committee, chairmanship of the Subcommittee on Transportation and the Environment, and membership on the Capital Budget Subcommittee. He is one of only a handful of legislators, past and present, to have served on each of the major budget committees of the Maryland General Assembly.

From 1988 to 1991, Fry chaired the Transit Advisory Panel, a 28-member group of elected officials, community leaders and transit riders that developed long and short-term recommendations for the future of transit in Maryland for the Maryland Department of Transportation. In 2002 and 2003, he served as Chair of the Vision 2030 Oversight Committee, a body of individuals representing citizens, businesses and special interest groups, creating vision statements and strategies for the central Maryland region.

He currently serves on the boards of Harford Mutual Insurance Companies, St. Joseph’s Medical Center, Baltimore Area Convention and Visitors Association (BACVA), University of Maryland Shock Trauma Board of Trustees, Goodwill Industries of the Chesapeake, CollegeBound and the Capitol College Board of Business Advisors.

Fry is a 1979 graduate of the University of Baltimore School of Law. He earned a B.S. in political science from Frostburg State College. He lives in Harford County with his wife Bonnie and son Matthew.

The Location Commission will have seven members, three to be appointed by the Governor, two by the President of the Senate and two by the Speaker of the House of Delegates. The five operator licenses will be awarded by the Commission through sealed competitive bidding. The Location Commission will also be responsible for the selection of the facilities and will work closely with the members of the Maryland Lottery Commission, who will be responsible for the licensing of the facilities, manufacturers and vendors doing business with the facilities.

The Location Commission will evaluate the following factors:

• The highest potential benefit and highest prospective total revenues• The extent to which the proposed location encourages Maryland gaming participants to remain in the state• The extent to which the proposed location demonstrates that the facility will be a substantial regional and national tourist destination• The proposed facility capital construction plans and competitiveness of the proposed facility• The amount of gross revenue to be allocated to the operator over the term of the license• The percentage ownership by minorities• The extent to which the proposed location will preserve existing Maryland jobs and the number of new jobs to be created• The contents of the bidder’s plan to achieve minority business participation goals; • Any additional economic development planned in the area of the proposed facility• The existing transportation infrastructure surrounding the proposed facility• The negative impact, if any, of a proposed facility location on the surrounding residential community• The need for additional public infrastructure expenditures at the proposed facility

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